Photo: Bethan MIller

Live Review: Holding Absence – ’The Greatest Mistake Of My Life’ Live & In Colour

The return of live music on a consistent basis looks to be drawing closer and closer, but until then, livestreams are the closest a lot of fans can get. Holding Absence have decided to take a crack at the whole livestream concert thing with a full playthrough of their latest album ‘The Greatest Mistake Of My Life’. It will be the first time most of these songs get the light of day due to the bands only other performance taking place at Download Pilot just a few weeks ago. Here are my thoughts on their live show!

Kicking off the show with the atmospheric  ‘Awake’ before seamlessly changing into ‘Celebration Song’, Holding Absence opted for recording in a more traditional studio like style. Every member of the band formed a circle around Singer Lucas Woodland which also works as a great visual. As for how they sounded, the band came across as clear as ever and each instrument sounded crisp. Flowing nicely into ‘Curse Me With Your Kiss’, the audio sounded top-notch however the live stream came into some syncing issue that would later be fixed for rewatching viewers. Despite the de-sync, fans in the virtual chat ate up every word of this track and it seemed to be a hit with them.

‘Afterlife’ was up next and this song hit hard! Arguably the bands biggest song to date, fans in the virtual crowd screamed the chorus back at the band while Holding Absence put on a near-perfect performance of their hit song. The level of energy rose during this song as the band seemed to find their footing. Next up was ‘Drugs and Love’, This was the tracks live debut and the song’s natural flow, works well in a live setting. This is one of those songs that will shine when the band get to play it in front of an actual crowd. It lacked the passionate crowd belting the words alongside the band which is an unfortunate side effect of these livestream shows.

Halfway through the show set and ‘In Circles’ was up next and I have to admit, this song just didn’t do it for me. I think the song itself is a decent enough track however, I think this is a song that was destined to be a deep cut one day. It doesn’t quite have the same impact as the rest of the album in a live setting and that, unfortunately, hurts the performance a bit. Thankfully, this is followed by ‘Nomoreroses’, an impactful number that shows the bands technical ability in a creative way. This is one of the bands heavier tracks that utilises great contrast from the verse and chorus. This track is bound to get a crowd going.

Continuing the momentum, ‘Beyond Belief’ was a number that had a nice groove to it. The performance of this track was near perfection and the band nailed the swing that this song created when the album dropped. This song is one of the tracks that you just can’t help but move to and it had that exact same effect on this live performance. ‘Die Alone (In Your Arms)’ followed and, oh boy did this song rock. The emphatic intro is something I will never get tired of and Lucas Woodland nailed his vocal delivery of this track. You could hear the raw emotion behind his words which made this track something truly special to witness.

Approaching the end of the album and ‘phantoms’ added a whole lot of atmosphere before the final track ‘Mourning Song’ kicked in. A more mellow number that’s full of emotion and personality made for a great viewing experience. Lucas Woodland once again made this track his own with an impassioned vocal performance. He has an unreal amount of talent and his live vocals are truly something you have to hear to truly appreciate.

As the credits rolled, a piano rendition on ‘The Greatest Mistake of My Life’ played to finish the full album playthrough. Overall, the performance was strong and allowed fans to hear some of these newer tracks live for the first time. These live streams will never top the real thing but in these times, it’s the best a lot of us have got and I think I can say with certainty that Holding Absence managed to put on one hell of a performance for their fans.